ESSELTE LIMITED
⚰️Wound downdissolved
01451078 · ltd · incorporated 1979-09-27
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 38.9y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
57/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of head offices
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 57/100 (worth a look), bankability 80/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 38.9y
70/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 38.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 20/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: low (52/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
27 officers (3 active, 27 linked, 22 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
149 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
57/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (74 events)Click to expand
- 2021-03-16📄gazette-dissolved-voluntarygazette · GAZ2(A)
- 2021-03-16🏁Company dissolved
- 2020-12-12📄dissolution-voluntary-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · SOAS(A)
- 2020-10-20📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2020-10-07📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2020-10-07📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-06-08📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-06-08📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2020-06-08📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-06-08📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2020-06-05➕SPENCE, Katherine Alexandra appointedsecretary
- 2020-06-05➕HOPKINSON, Christopher Neil, Mr. appointeddirector
- 2020-06-01➖GRIMES, Robert Michael resignedsecretary
- 2020-06-01➖GRIMES, Robert Michael resigneddirector
- 2019-10-08📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2019-10-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-23📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2018-11-23📄auditors-resignation-limited-companyauditors · AA03
- 2018-09-25📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2018-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-07-24➖THOMAS, Walter Joe, Dr resignedsecretary
- 2018-07-24➖GUNN, Nigel Robert resigneddirector
- 2018-07-24➖THOMAS, Walter Joe, Dr resigneddirector
- 2018-07-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2018-07-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2018-07-24📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2018-07-24📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2018-07-12➕SPENCE, Katherine Alexandra appointeddirector
- 2018-07-12➕GRIMES, Robert Michael appointedsecretary
- 2018-07-12➕GRIMES, Robert Michael appointeddirector
- 2018-07-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2018-07-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2014-07-30➖STARTIN, Richard John resignedsecretary
- 2014-07-30➖STARTIN, Richard John resigneddirector
- 2014-07-10➖LUNDREGAN, William Joseph resigneddirector
- 2014-07-09➕THOMAS, Walter Joe, Dr appointeddirector
- 2014-04-15➕THOMAS, Walter Joe, Dr appointedsecretary
- 2008-10-20➖O'LEARY, James Joseph resigneddirector
- 2007-10-16➕GUNN, Nigel Robert appointeddirector
- 2007-06-04➖THOMAS, David Martin resigneddirector
- 2007-05-31➕STARTIN, Richard John appointedsecretary
- 2007-05-31➖THOMAS, David Martin resignedsecretary
- 2007-05-23➕LUNDREGAN, William Joseph appointeddirector
- 2006-07-07➖EBELING, Christoph Johannes resigneddirector
- 2006-06-21➖MACCALLAN, James Michael Ferguson resigneddirector
- 2005-11-30🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2005-08-17➕EBELING, Christoph Johannes appointeddirector
- 2004-01-27➕O'LEARY, James Joseph appointeddirector
- 2003-07-25➖SWYCHER, Ian resigneddirector
Showing most recent 50 of 74 events
Owner dependency
58/100
Moderate — manageable with handoverSome founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 47 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 high ·Company dissolved
highCompany has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2021-03-16
🔒Co-director network graph
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · HP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 GARDEN DESIGN LIMITED→ 10329769 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 1505 ENGINEERING LTD→ 12137436 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| 313 RESOURCING LTD→ 15657857 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A5 BUSINESS CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16897393 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AB MANAGEMENT CONSULTING LTD→ 13923326 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABACUS ASSOCIATES (UK) LIMITED→ 05663934 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ABH8 CONSULTING LIMITED→ 15221368 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABIKAD LTD→ 15637479 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABOUT THAT GROWTH LTD→ 15925501 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABRI BERRY CONSEIL LTD→ 17039042 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABROAD ASPIRATIONS LIMITED→ 13530098 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACBL CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 15043494 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →🔒Advanced scoring suite
Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Company details
Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated1979-09-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70100 — Activities of head offices
Registered office
Oxford House
Oxford Road
Aylesbury
HP21 8SZ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2018-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —
Officers (0 active · 24 resigned)
SPENCE, Katherine Alexandra→
Activesecretary · appointed 2020-06-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HOPKINSON, Christopher Neil, Mr.→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2020-06-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SPENCE, Katherine Alexandra→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2018-07-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GRIMES, Robert Michael→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2018-07-12 · resigned 2020-06-01
STARTIN, Richard John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2007-05-31 · resigned 2014-07-30
THOMAS, David Martin→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2007-05-31
THOMAS, Walter Joe, Dr→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2014-04-15 · resigned 2018-07-24
ALLEN, Ian Yarwood→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 1994-07-05 · resigned 1994-09-16
BECKLEY, John Arthur→
Resigneddirector · ~92y · resigned 1994-05-02
BENNETT, Stephen Thomas→
Resigneddirector · ~68y · appointed 1999-05-10 · resigned 2000-04-30
BIORCK, Hans Torsten Gunnar→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · resigned 1997-10-13
EBELING, Christoph Johannes→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2005-08-17 · resigned 2006-07-07
FORSBLAD, Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · resigned 1992-09-30
GRIMES, Robert Michael→
Resigneddirector · ~46y · appointed 2018-07-12 · resigned 2020-06-01
GUNN, Nigel Robert→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 2007-10-16 · resigned 2018-07-24
LAURIE, Graham Russell→
Resigneddirector · ~86y · appointed 1994-05-21 · resigned 1999-12-31
LUNDREGAN, William Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~56y · appointed 2007-05-23 · resigned 2014-07-10
MACCALLAN, James Michael Ferguson→
Resigneddirector · ~79y · appointed 2003-05-29 · resigned 2006-06-21
NYREN, Christopher Reginald John→
Resigneddirector · ~91y · appointed 1994-06-07 · resigned 1996-09-02
O'LEARY, James Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2004-01-27 · resigned 2008-10-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Ubs Ag, London Branch as Agent and Trustee for Itself and Each of the Finance Parties. | Debenture | 1 property | 09/10/2002 | 30/11/2005 | |
| satisfied | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | Deed of setoff | 1 property | 01/07/1987 | 29/01/1999 |
Recent filings (149 total)
gazette-dissolved-voluntary
gazette · GAZ2(A)
2021-03-16
dissolution-voluntary-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · SOAS(A)
2020-12-12
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2020-10-20
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2020-10-07
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2020-10-07
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-06-08
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2020-06-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-06-08
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2020-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-11
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2019-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-15
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2018-11-23
auditors-resignation-limited-company
auditors · AA03
2018-11-23